When the 1899 English version of the Augustana Hymnal was published, 33 translations of the 1892 book were from the songbook while another 33 were favorite Anglo-Saxon Gospel hymns reset to their English texts. Thus the Gospel songs which were so dear to Swedish Augustana made it into the English hymnals they produced, not only because they were American songs, but also because they were beloved Swedish songs as well. So tonight we will be singing "In the Sweet Bye and Bye" and "Shall We Gather at The River" as beloved pieces in the Hemlandssånger tradition because they were carried forward by their Swedishness. The place where the tradition was preserved most effectively was the collection in 1950's by Carl Manfred and others Youth's Favorite Songs. In it, songs and hymns which a group of Augustana youth judged to be favorites, were republished for use among the youth. This yellow book has once again been republished by the Medicine Lake Seminary, a break off from the Lutheran Free Church, a Norwegian Lutheran church which has had long and affectionate appreciation of the Swedish song tradition ever since Ole Paulson, and M Falk Gjertsen. The two traditions, not surprisingly, came together to form the Lutheran Bible Institute where this songbook has had a cherished place. One still finds old, weatherbeaten copies of it at Mt. Carmel, beside Lake Carlos in Douglas County where Samuel Miller held forth for many years. And still by campfires throughout Swedish and Norwegian Minnesota and surroundings, one can hear "Open Mine Eyes."

Good bio of Joseph Philbrick Webster, who wrote the song, on Univeristy of Wisconsin library site.
Also wrote "Lorena," his first hit, and "I'll twine 'mid the ringlets" (Chicago, ca. 1863), to words by Maud Irving.
"The song passed into oral tradition and was recorded, and copyrighted, under the title 'Wildwood flower' by the Carter Family on 10 May 1928. The words, as performed by the Carters, show evidence of inaccuracies generated through oral transmission. Webster's manuscript for this song is contained in this collection."

No comments:

Pages

About Me

I'm a retired English, journalism and cultural studies teacher at Springfield College in Illinois (acquired by Benedictine University and subsequently closed). I coordinate jam sessions for the "Clayville Pioneer Academy of Music" at Clayville Historic Site and the Prairieland Strings dulcimer club, and I sing in the choir and the contemporary praise team at Peace Lutheran Church in Springfield. On Hogfiddle I post links and video clips for our sessions and workshops on the mountain dulcimer (a.k.a. "hog fiddle"), as well as research notes on folklore and cultural studies, hymnody and traditional Anglo-Celtic and Scandinavian music. I also posted assignments and readings in my interdisciplinary humanities classes. The Mackerel Wrapper (now on hiatus), carried assignments and readings for my mass comm. students. I started teaching b/log when I chaired SCI-Benedictine's assessment committee, and reopened it as the privatization of public schools grew increasingly troubling and closer to home.